Brussels bombings: Tender moment amid blast horror

A couple kiss after escaping the metro bombing unscathed.

This is the tender moment two survivors embraced outside a Brussels Metro station - minutes after a blast killed 20 commuters on a crowded train.

The man and woman were seen comforting one another outside the Maelbeek Metro station while a man lay covered in blood just feet away.

Having emerged unscathed from the explosion - the third to hit the Belgian capital in just 79 minutes - the pair briefly hugged amid horrific scenes unfolding around them.

A man, face covered in blood and his trousers blown off his legs, can be seen lifting his arm up as if asking passers-by for help.

A moment later, they turned around and helped up a man calling for help.

The couple then focus their attentions on the injured man lying on the pavement near the entrance to the station.

It was just one of a series of images taken in the aftermath of the attack as stunned commuters emerged from the smoke.

Shocking pictures from the station show the mangled remains of the train, smoke pouring out of the building and casualties littered on the pavement outside - just 400 metres from the EU's headquarters.

The bomb went off at 9.19am - just over an hour after two explosions killed at least 14 after a suicide attack on the Belgian capital's main airport.

Brussels' public transport authority has revealed that the three-carriage train at Maelbeek was ripped apart by a single explosion, with the bomb set off in its middle carriage.

Commuters on the Metro at the time described hearing a loud bang before they were evacuated from trains and forced to walk down smoke-filled tunnels and along the track to the closest safe station.